1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to bicycle pump valve heads, and more particularly to a valve head that matingly engages both Schrader and Presta valves without any adjustment of the valve head components.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As is well known, bicycle tires have been manufactured for many years with two different types of air valves, the Schrader valve and the Presta valve. Therefore, it has been necessary for manufacturers to create two different valve heads, each of which can each mate with one of the two different valves. Some manufacturers have created a single valve head that is formed as a T, wherein one side of the T possesses a Schrader valve head and the other side of the T possesses a Presta valve head.
There have also been successful efforts to create a single valve head that is adaptable for mating with both Schrader and Presta valves. Such valve heads have included internal components that must be manipulated or changed, such that the valve head is engageable with a Schrader valve in one component configuration and is likewise engageable with a Presta valve in a second component configuration. While this type of single valve head has certain advantages over the prior art valve heads, the requirement that the user must alter the configuration of components within the valve head to change it from Schrader valve compatibility to Presta valve compatability has still created some difficulty and inconvenience. There is therefore a need for a single valve head that is compatible with both Schrader and Presta valve configurations, which valve head does not require any adjustments or internal valve component changes.